Los
Angeles, Oct 31 (DPA) Barack Obama's 30 minute infomercial
was watched by some 30 million viewers Wednesday night and
beat the normal ratings of the networks on which it was screened,
according to preliminary ratings released Thursday by Nielsen.

The
viewing figures showed that for the six networks that aired
the programme simultaneously, the spot had a household rating
of 21.7 percent, meaning that 21.7 percent of all households
watching television were tuned to the spot. The total of network
viewers was 26.3 million viewers, with millions more watching
on cable channels which also aired the ad.

The
only previous time that a presidential candidate has chosen
to buy a half hour of TV time was in 1992 when billionaire
Ross Perot ran as an independent candidate. His ad drew 16.8
million viewers.